Emulator-enabled network connectivity to a device

ABSTRACT

An emulator is capable of connecting to an information interface that can communicate information from an information source to an information sink in a format native to the information sink. The emulator comprises an emulation controller capable of coupling to the information interface, a network controller coupled to the emulation controller and capable of coupling to an external network, and a storage. The storage holds an instruction sequence executable on the emulation controller. The instruction sequence comprises a code for receiving network information from the external network and a code capable of converting the network information to the native format for transfer to the information sink.

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/314,383 entitled“Emulator-enabled Network Connectivity to a Device” filed on Dec. 5,2002, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/408,831 filed on Sep. 6, 2002, and U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/409,630 filed on Sep. 9,2002, and a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/084,403 entitled “System and method for providing networkconnectivity to a common embedded interface by simulating the embeddedinterface” filed on Feb. 25, 2002, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference. The disclosed system and operatingmethod are related to subject matter disclosed in the followingco-pending patent applications that are incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/314,782,entitled “Network to Computer Internal Interface”; (2) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/313,536, entitled “Network Interface to a VideoDriver”; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/313,539, entitled“Video Receiver/Recorder with Computer Interface”; (4) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/313,850, entitled “Computer System Capable ofExecuting a Remote Operating System”; (5) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/313,743, entitled “Transcoding Media System”; (6) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/313,538, entitled “Communication ArchitectureUtilizing Emulator Interface”; (7) U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/314,374, entitled “Server in a Media System; and (8) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/895,251, entitled “Content Management System”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many industries and applications, highly complex devices orappliances exist that perform a single function or only a few functionsbut have processing, storage and display capabilities that could greatlyextend functionality if exploited. Examples of these devices andappliances include televisions, digital video cassette recorders,digital versatile disk players, audio receivers, point-of-saleterminals, process controllers and valves, vending machines, alarmsystems, home appliances, and many more. Computational power andcapabilities of the devices increases as technology evolves andadditional software solutions become available, improving user andcustomer services and experiences with successive product generations.The devices and appliances typically have a dedicated function andunique architecture and, generally, are not designed for interactionwith other device or model types, or even with others of the samedevice.

Technological advances have created availability of a vast amount ofinformation that is accessible by computer networks such as intranets,local area networks, wide area networks, and the internet. The networksenable easy access to information throughout the world and facilitateinformation delivery world-wide in the form of text files, data, motionpictures, video clips, web pages, flash presentations, shareware,computer programs, command files, and other information. One obstacle toaccess and delivery of information is lack of interoperability andresource management among devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with some embodiments of the disclosed system, an emulatoris capable of connecting to an information interface that cancommunicate information from an information source to an informationsink in a format native to the information sink. The emulator comprisesan emulation controller capable of coupling to the informationinterface, a network controller coupled to the emulation controller andcapable of coupling to an external network, and a storage. The storageholds an instruction sequence executable on the emulation controller.The instruction sequence comprises a code for receiving networkinformation from the external network and a code capable of convertingthe network information to the native format for transfer to theinformation sink.

In accordance with other embodiments, an emulator is capable ofconnecting to an information interface and communicating informationfrom an information source to an information sink in a format native tothe information sink. The emulator comprises an emulation controllercapable of coupling to the information interface, a network controllercoupled to the emulation controller and capable of coupling to anexternal network, and a storage. The storage holds an instructionsequence executable on the emulation controller. The instructionsequence comprises a code for receiving source information in the nativeformat from the information source and network information in a formatdifferent from the native format from the external network, andseamlessly alternatively supplying the source information and thenetwork information in the native format to the information sink.

In accordance with further embodiments, an emulator comprises aninterface capable of tapping into a communication pathway and supplyinginformation from an information source to an information sink, a networkcontroller coupled to the interface and capable of coupling to anexternal network, and a controller coupled to the interface and coupledto the network controller. The controller comprises a content transfersubsystem that selectively transfers media content from either theinformation source or the external network, and a format decodersubsystem that converts information received from the external networkto a format of information supplied by the information source.

In accordance with other embodiments, an emulator comprises an interfacecapable of coupling to a media decoder, an external interface, and acontroller. The media decoder has a conventional capability to decodeinformation encoded in a native format. The external interface iscoupled to the interface and capable of coupling to an external devicethat supplies information in a format different from the native format.The controller is coupled to the interface, coupled to the externalinterface, and capable of converting information received on theexternal interface to the native format and supplying the convertedinformation to the media decoder.

In accordance with other embodiments and aspects of the system, a methodof performing media content comprises coupling to a media decoder havinga conventional capability to decode information encoded in a nativeformat, accessing information in a format different from the nativeformat, converting supplied information to the native format, andsupplying the converted information to the media decoder.

In accordance with further embodiments, a method of performing mediacontent comprises coupling to an information communication pathway thatcan connect a media source to a media decoder and accessing informationin a format different from the native format from an external source.The media decoder has a conventional capability to decode informationfrom the media source and encoded in a native format. The method furthercomprises emulating the media source by producing, from the accessedinformation, emulation signals consistent with native format signals,and supplying the emulation signals to the media decoder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the described embodiments believed to be novel arespecifically set forth in the appended claims. However, embodiments ofthe invention relating to both structure and method of operation, maybest be understood by referring to the following description andaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a deviceinteraction model that can utilize an emulator interface.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram that illustrates an example of asuitable emulator interface for connecting a device or bus to a network.

FIG. 3 is a detailed system block diagram showing an example of a devicethat utilizes an emulator interface.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram that depicts functional blocks of anemulation circuit that is suitable for usage in the emulator interfaceof FIGS. 2 and/or 3.

FIG. 5 is a component diagram showing various system, hardware, andsoftware components of a server for usage with an emulator interface.

FIG. 6 is a use case diagram that illustrates functionality of anaudiovisual system that uses an emulator interface.

FIG. 7 is a use case diagram that illustrates functionality of anaudiovisual system that uses an alternative embodiment of an emulatorinterface.

FIG. 8 is a detailed state diagram illustrating an example offunctionality of a suitable emulator.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing one example of anaudiovisual system that includes emulation.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating another implementationof an audio-visual system that includes emulation to extend renderingfunctionality.

FIG. 11 is a schematic mixed block and pictorial diagram that depicts anexample of an application for an emulator.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing various connections thatcan be made between an emulator and a communication system that includesa source, a sink, and a pathway for communicating from the source to thesink.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an information hallwayapplication of an emulator that is configured to function as part of acable/DSL gateway.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of amultiple-media receiver/recorder comprising an emulator that functionsas an input selector or media switch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

What are desired are systems, devices, and methods that enableintercommunication and information sharing among devices and appliances.

An emulator interface can interpose a network interconnection between amedia drive and a media decoder. In other applications, the emulatorinterface can replace a media drive. The emulator interface comprises aninterface to a communication link that delivers data from the mediadrive to the media decoder, a network controller and connector to thenetwork, and an emulator that can convert information or conveypre-converted information from the network in a form expected by themedia decoder. The emulator interface emulates signals from an existingdevice, for example an optical interface such as a DVD or CD-ROM drive,for application to a renderer, for example an MPEG decoder. The emulatorinterface supplies data in the form expected by the renderer.

Typically, the interface between the media drive and the media decoderis a conventional interface that communicates content in a logicalformat. The emulator interface extends the functionality of the mediadecoder by adding a network link so that the media decoder can receivecontent from one or more network devices. The emulator ensures that theformat of network data is supported by the MPEG decoder and, if notsupported, can convert the network data format to a supported logicalformat.

The emulator interface can emulate an existing device, for example toadd network connectivity without change to the device. The emulatorinterface can emulate a device at a logical level as well as a physicallevel. In some embodiments, the emulator interface can analyze theexisting device to determine supported protocol responses and/or contentformats, determine the format of presented content, and reformat ortranscode the content to place the presented content in the supportedformat. In a particular example, the emulator interface can monitortraffic on a bus and analyze the traffic for commands and responses todetermine the supported format. The emulator interface can then convertcontent received from an external source in an unsupported format to thesupported format.

In some embodiments, the emulator interface can analyze signals todetermine format of a presented content and whether the presentedcontent format is a format supported by the decoder and, if not,reformatting the presented information to the supported format.

In some embodiments, the emulator interface can analyze signals forcommands and responses to determine a format supported by the decoder,analyze signals to determine whether information received from anexternal source does not comply with the supported format. If not, theemulator interface can convert the information received from theexternal source to the supported format.

The emulator interface includes a content transfer subsystem and aformat decoder subsystem. Emulator can receive signals from an externalsource such as Ethernet from PC and convert the signals so that the MPEGdecoder functions as if receiving signals from a standard supply devicesuch as CD or DVD, seamlessly supplying content to an MPEG decoder frommultiple diverse-format sources.

In one example, an Ethernet System-On-a-Chip (SOC) emulates a DVD driveinterface and streams content according to standard disc formats.

Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic block diagram shows an example of adevice interaction model 100 that can utilize an emulator interface. Thedevice interaction model 100 defines general interactions between manydifferent types of devices and controllers. Various devices andcontrollers may be computers, workstations, laptop computers,calculators, palm computers, mobile telephones, televisions, electronicpicture frames, video cassette recorders, compact disk (CD) or digitalversatile disk (DVD) players and recorders, CD-ROM drives (R/RW),jukeboxes, karaoke devices, camcorders, set-top boxes, audio systems,MP3 players, still-image cameras, remote control devices, controlpanels, and any other control devices and information storage,retrieval, and display devices. The device interaction model 100includes a source 110, a sink 112, and a controller 114. A particulardevice or controller can be configured variously as any of the source110, the sink 112, and the controller 114. Other interactions models canbe used. Some may omit or integrate the controller 114. A particulardevice or controller can function as any of the source 110, the sink112, or the controller 114 in a particular interaction. A particulardevice or controller can function as more than one of the source 110,the sink 112, and the controller 114 in a particular interaction orconfiguration.

The source 110 can be any device capable of supplying information orcontent of any type including audio, video, or any type of codedinformation. In various embodiments, the source 110 can supply contentof one or more types under various video standards such as MotionPictures Expert Group (MPEG2, MPEG4), picture standards including JointPhotographic Experts Group (JPEG), and audio standards including MPEG-1Audio Layer-3 (MP3). The source 110 also can supply content under otherstandards such as Windows Media Architecture (WMA), bitmaps (BMP),National Television Standards Committee (NTSC), Phase Alteration Line(PAL), Sequential Couleur avec Memoire (SECAM), Advanced TelevisionSystems Committee (ATSC), video compact disk (VCD) and S-VCD standards,Power Point (PPT), karaoke functions, features such as MP3 orprogressive scan display, and emerging new functionality.

The controller 114 initiates content transfer by configuring the source110 and sink 112 so that selected content flows from the source 110 tothe sink 112 using a suitable transfer protocol 116. Supported transferprotocols 116 include one or more of broadband, IEEE-1394 high-speedserial bus, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC-61883)Standard that describes: Isochronous Plug Control Registers, ConnectionManagement Protocol (CMP), Function Control Protocol (FCP), CommonIsochronous Packet (CIP) headers, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPGET/PUT/POST), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), IEEE 802 wireless standards, andothers.

In various embodiments, the sink 112 can be any device capable ofrendering content. Typical sink 112 devices include MPEG decoders, DVDrecorders, televisions, with an embedded MPEG decoder, personal videorecorders (PVRs), audio systems and other devices. In the illustrativedevice interaction model 100, content from a content source 110 can beselected through the controller 114 based on rendering capabilities ofthe sink 112 and transferred from the source 110 to the sink 112 forrendering.

The emulator interface can emulate an existing device, functioning inany capacity as a source 110, sink 112, or controller 114, for exampleto add network connectivity without change to the device. The emulatorinterface can emulate a device at a logical level as well as a physicallevel.

In some embodiments, the emulator interface can analyze contentcommunications to determine supported content formats, determine theformat of presented content, and reformat or transcode the content toplace the presented content in the supported format. In a particularexample, the emulator interface can monitor traffic on a bus (forexample, an IDE bus) and analyze the traffic for commands and responsesto determine the supported format. The emulator interface can thenconvert content received from an external source in an unsupportedformat to the supported format.

Referring to FIG. 2, a schematic block diagram illustrates an example ofa suitable emulator interface 200 for connecting a device 202 or bus 204to a network 206. The illustrative emulator interface 200 comprises aninterface controller 210 that is capable of coupling the emulatorinterface 200 to the device 202 or bus 204, an network controller 212that is capable of coupling the emulator interface 200 to the network206, and a processor 214. The processor 214 is capable of executingvarious processes, methods, or programs to transfer information betweenthe network 206 and the device 202 or bus 204 and to perform a widevariety of other functions. The emulator interface 200 may include otheroptional functional blocks such as a volatile memory 216 and nonvolatilememory 218 that may be coupled to the interface controller 210. Thevolatile memory 216, for example synchronous dynamic random accessmemory (SDRAM), may be used to store information such as temporarycontrol information, transferring data in various formats, and others.The nonvolatile memory 218, for example a bootstrap read-only memory(ROM), may be used to store executable function code such as a bootstrapload program and other operational functions, and operating parameters.

A network connector 220, for example a RJ45 connector, can couple thenetwork controller 212 to the network 206.

The interface controller 210 can also support additional communicationlinks. In the illustrative example, the interface controller 210 has aradio frequency communication link 222 and a universal serial bus (USB)link 224.

The emulator interface 200 integrates network communication capabilitiesinto a device 202 or into a system that utilizes the bus 204. In variousembodiments, the emulator interface 200 can support 10/100 Ethernetmedia access control (MAC) protocol, serial ports, parallel ports,memory controllers, direct memory access (DMA), and parallel I/O. Insome examples, the emulator interface 200 can interface with otherprocessors, devices or components via a register interface or shared RAMinterface.

The processor 214 can be any suitable processor, microprocessor,controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signalprocessor, state machine, or the like. One example of a suitableprocessor is a chip-internal Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC)such as a selected member (for example, ARM7, ARM9, ARM9E, ARM10) of theAdvanced RISC Machines (ARM) from Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) Ltd.,Cambridge, UK. The ARM7 processor includes a RISC stand-alone core,instruction/data cache, write buffer, and pre-fetch control (none shown)and has an internal bus structure that enables program execution fromcache while the internal bus is performing DMA data transfer operationsto efficiently handle communication operations.

In some embodiments, the Network controller 212 has two modules, andnetwork front end (not shown) and a media access control (MAC) module(not shown), for example for both 10 and 100 Mbit applications. Thenetwork front end maintains the MAC interface and includes transmit andreceive first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffers, DMA interface logic, andcontrol/status registers for MAC, transmitter, and receiver. In oneexample, the transmit FIFO and receive FIFO have capacities of 128 bytesand 2048 bytes, respectively. The transmit FIFO allows a portion of thetransmit buffer to remain on the FIFO while collisions occur on thenetwork medium, avoiding multiple buffer fetches from memory. Thereceive FIFO is large to allow an entire frame to be received and waitin the FIFO during byte count analysis to determine an optimum bufferdescription for DMA transfer.

The MAC module interfaces between the network front end and I/O pins,and supports ENDEC (10 Mbit) and Media Independent Interfaces (MIT)under firmware control. Functions performed by the MAC module include100 Mbit Ethernet MAC, MIT management function, address filtering,statistics gathering, and an optional 100 Mbit physical coding layer.

The interface controller 210 supplies an interface between the emulatorinterface 200 and a device 202 or bus 204, supporting one or more offive interface types, for example including an IEEE 1284 host port, a16-bit shared RAM interface, an 8-bit shared RAM interface, a 16-bitFIFO interface, and an 8-bit FIFO interface. The IEEE 1284 mode supportscommercial network printer server applications as a bridge between alocal area network (LAN) and up to four external devices using the 1284Parallel Port interface. The shared memory interface supplies up to 64Kof shared RAM between the emulator interface 200 and a bus 204. The FIFOinterface supplies a data streaming FIFO interface between the emulatorinterface 200 and the bus 204 or device 202. In an illustrative example,the FIFO interface supports two 32-bit FIFOs, one for each datadirection.

The interface controller 210 contains a functional element that operatesas a memory controller (not shown) to interface to memory devices suchas flash, static Random Access Memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), EEPROM,and others. The memory controller functions in cooperation with a buscontroller (not shown) to transfer data between the bus 204 and amemory. The memory controller typically supports various types of DRAMincluding fast page mode (FD) DRAM, synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), and EDODRAM. Generally a single application utilizes the same style of DRAM.

The interface controller 210 may include a bus controller (not shown)that moves data to and from the bus 204. In some embodiments, the buscontroller supports dynamic bus sizing for selected logical addresses.The bus controller can perform system bus arbitration for interfaceswith an external bus master or CPU. The bus controller operates inconjunction with the memory controller to access devices 202 using thebus 204.

In some embodiments, the interface controller 210 may also support aserial controller (not shown). For example, the interface controller 210may include two independent universal asynchronous/synchronousreceiver/transmitter (ART) channels, each with a programmable bit-rategenerator. The UARTs realize relatively low-speed information transferbetween the emulator interface 200 and a device 202 using a standardprotocol.

In some embodiments, the serial controller of the interface controller210 can support a High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) protocol thatforms a data link layer for wide area networking (WAN) models such asFrame Relay, ISDN, and SDLC. In the HDLC mode, the interface controller210 uses a zero insertion/deletion “bit-stuffing” protocol to transmitlayer 2 data frames over point-to-point links, broadcast networks,packet networks, or circuit switch networks with CRC field errordetection.

In some embodiments, the serial controller of the interface controller210 can support a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol thatdefines a full-duplex, synchronous, character-oriented data channelbetween master and slave devices using a four-wire interface. The masterinterface operates in broadcast mode with the slave interface activatedusing a select signal. The SPI operation mode converts simpleparallel/serial data to stream serial data between memory and aperipheral.

In various embodiments, the interface controller 210 may also includeone or more components including programmable timers with interruptsupport, programmable bus-error timers, programmable watch-dog timers,programmable parallel I/O ports with interrupt support, a systempriority interrupt controller, and a controller for other miscellaneoussystem control functions.

Referring to FIG. 3, a detailed system diagram shows an example of adevice 300 that utilizes an emulator interface 306. In one example, thedevice 300 is a video player and/or recorder such as a Digital VersatileDisc (DVD) player or DVD player/recorder. The device 300 comprises acontent source 302, a content sink 304, and an emulator interface 306.The content source 302 supplies information or media content forpresentation on the content sink 304.

In some examples, the content source 302 can be an audio and/or videodevice subsystem such as a DVD drive, CD drive, or CD-ROM drive (CD-R,CD-RW). In a specific example, the content source 302 may include anintegrated DVD/CD digital signal processor (DSP), servo and blockdecoder with advanced error detection and correction schemes forimproved playability.

The content sink 304 is typically a device that processes the contentfor presentation, for example, a rendering device. In one example, thecontent sink 304 can be an MPEG decoder that decodes audio and/or videocontent for display. In a particular example, the content sink 304 mayinclude an integrated DVD backend that combines an MPEG-2 video decoder;24-bit audio digital signal processor (DSP); 32-bitreduced-instruction-set-computer (RISC) system CPU. The particularcontent sink 304 may further include an advanced 32-bit on-screendisplay (OSD) with hardware 2D graphical user interface (GUI)acceleration for superior user-interface performance and quality; andPALINTSC video encoder with a progressive scan option forhigh-definition TV (HDTV)-ready systems. Major audio features in thespecific example include support for multi-channel MPEG, Dolby Digitaland Digital Theatre Systems (DTS), as well as High Definition CompatibleDigital (HDCD.TM.) and MP3 decode, in addition to post processingfunctions such as karaoke and 3D sound.

In the illustrative device 300, the content sink 304 is coupled to amemory 330. The illustrative content sink 304 comprises severalfunctional blocks including a sink processor 332, a communications port334 such as a serial port, and a display panel 336. The sink processor332 can be any type of suitable processor, microprocessor, controller,microcontroller, digital signal processor, state machine, centralprocessing unit, or the like. The communications port 334 may typicallyreceive control signals from a communication device (not shown) such asa remote control unit. The display panel 336 typically includes varioustypes of user interface controls such as an alpha-numeric pad, volumecontrol buttons, switches, pads, joysticks, or other function selectionkeys.

In the illustrative device 300, the content source 302 communicates withthe content sink 304 via a communication bus 338 that carries datasignals, control signals, chip select signals, interrupt requestsignals, and the like. In various systems, the communication bus 338 maybe a nonstandard bus or may be one or more of several various standard,typically parallel, buses from among Integrated Device Electronics(IDE), audio/visual (A/V), advanced technology attachment packetinterface (ATAPI), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), or otherbuses. In some embodiments, the communication bus 338 may be a physicalinterface to the media access control (MAC) module.

The emulator interface 306 can be coupled to the communication bus 338to communicate with a network and send network information to the sinkand/or source in a manner that emulates a source-sink interaction.Although terminology of content source 302 and content sink 304 indicatea particular direction of content transfer, in various deviceimplementations and/or interactions either the content source 302 or thecontent sink 304 may be an ultimate receiver of content. For example, adevice 300, a DVD player, may include an MPEG decoder as a content sink304, emulator interface 304 can manage content selection andcommunication direction so that either the content source 302, forexample a DVD drive, or an external network or device sources thecontent. In another example, a personal video recorder (PVR) or DVDrecorder device 300 may have an MPEG encoder content source, a writeableDVD drive or hard disk drive, that often operates as a content source,but may function as a content sink or renderer when the device 300 is ina recording mode. In the PVR or DVD recorder example, the content source302 performs a network-attached storage function in which the writeableDVD or hard disk drive functions as a recordable drive or the DVD orhard disk drive storage can be omitted and content can be delivered toor from a computer or network.

In the illustrative embodiment, the emulator interface 306 comprises anemulator interface controller 310, a network controller 312, a processor314, a memory 316, a serial bus interface 324, a content bus interface340, and in some embodiments, processes executed on a processor such asa computer 342, host 350, or remote source 352.

The processor 314 executes various processes, methods, or programs thatcontrol operations of the emulator interface controller 310 to transferinformation between a network external to the device 300 and the contentsource 302 or communication bus 338 and to perform a wide variety ofother functions. The processor 314 can be any suitable processor,microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit,digital signal processor, state machine, or the like.

The emulator interface controller 310 is capable of coupling theemulator interface 306 to the device 300 or communication bus 338, andmanages the generation and/or transmission of data signals, controlsignals, chip select, interrupt request signals, and the like. Theemulator interface controller 310 may include a detection circuit fordetecting presence of a communications port, such as an infrared (IR) orradio frequency (RF) port. In various examples, the detection circuitmay comprise hardware, software, firmware, or a combination. Upondetermination that a communications port is present, the detectioncircuit then can determine whether commands or control signals areissued from a remote device to the device 300 via the communicationsport.

The emulator interface controller 310 may be implemented in any suitabletechnology such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an integratedcircuit, a discrete circuit, a programmable circuit, or any other typeof circuit.

The emulator interface controller 310 communicates bi-directionally withthe memory 316.

The illustrative emulator interface controller 310 is also coupled tothe network controller 312 that may be a local area network controlleror other suitable network controller. The network controller 312 formsan interface between the device 300 and one or more networks, such aslocal area networks. The emulator interface controller 310 may also beconnected to a wide area network, for example the internet, via anetwork connection 320, such as a wide area network connection. Thenetwork connection 320 facilitates operation of the device 300 with anycomputer network standard, for example with broadband and modemstandards. In some embodiments, a computer 342, such as a host computer,workstation, control terminal, and the like, may be connected to thedevice 300 via the network controller 312. Alternatively, the computer342 may be connected to the device 300 via the network connection 320.The device 300 may be coupled via the network connection 320 to anetwork that comprises a plurality of device subsystems, for example A/Vdevice subsystems, and other media elements. Alternatively, the device300 may retrieve information from one of the plurality of devicesubsystems.

The content bus interface 340 enables the device 300 to communicate witha variety of other devices and device types. For example, the contentbus interface 340 may enable connection to one or more of local areanetwork (LAN) cards, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), an IEEE 1394 standardcompatible bus, an Audio/Visual (A/V) bus, a Small Systems InterconnectBus (SCSI), a cable modem, a digital camera, a video camcorder, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), or any other device that produceselectronic signals.

The serial bus interface 324 enables the device 300 to interface with avariety of other devices and device types, for example, user interfacedevices such as a mouse, a keyboard, joystick, trackpad, or other inputdevices. Media elements from any devices coupled to the content businterface 340, the serial bus interface 324, or any of the communicationbuses 338 may be retrieved or delivered to the content sink 304 to beprocessed, and then to be displayed.

In some examples, data signals may communicate between the contentsource 302 and the content sink 304. Data signals may also communicatebetween the content source 302 and the emulator interface controller310, or between the content sink 304 and the emulator interfacecontroller 310 via data lines of the communication bus 338. Controlsignals may also communicate between the content source 302 and theemulator interface controller 310, or between the content sink 304 andthe emulator interface controller 310 via control lines of thecommunication bus 338. Various other control signals and interruptrequest signals may communicate bi-directionally between the contentsource 302 and emulator interface controller 310, or between the contentsink 304 and the emulator interface controller 310.

Media content may be stored on the content source 302, for example anoptical disc drive (DVD or CD type), in a computer such as a hostcomputer 350 or a computer at a remote network site 352. In onetransaction example, the sink processor 332 of the content sink 304receives content located on either of the content source 302, the hostcomputer 350, or on a remote network site 352 under control of theemulator interface 306. The received data may be completely or partiallyprocessed, or unprocessed, before transmission to the content sink 304.In a specific class of devices, the received content can be in a formatnative to the content source 302 or a format that the content sink 304is capable of processing. For a specific device in this class, thecontent source 302 can be a DVD player, a supported content format maybe MPEG 2 DVD format, MPEG VCD format, MPEG 2 Super VCD format, or anyDVD compliant format. The media content can be communicated directly tothe content sink 304, which transcodes the data, then forwards thetranscoded data for display, for example video information on a videodisplay 360 and/or audio information amplified by audio amplifier 362and displayed on audio display 364. One example of an audio display 364is a speaker.

If the content has a format that is not native to the content sink 304,a format that the content sink 304 is not configured to process, or ifthe content does not comply with frame rate requirements, the hostcomputer 350 can decompress the content prior to forwarding to thecontent sink 304. In either case, the emulator interface 306 can convertthe data to a displayable format. An example of a noncompliant formatthat may require format conversion is a DVD player in which content hasan MPEG 4 format, Real Networks format, or MPEG1/MPEG2 format.

In various embodiments, applications, and examples, the device 300performs various functions of information storage, processing,monitoring, and display. The functions are executed by control andmanagement elements such as the sink processor 332, the processor 314,the host computer 350, other computational and control devices in theremote network site 352, or in other computational, management, andcontrol elements inside and outside the device 300. The controlfunctions may be implemented as software, firmware, either individuallyor in combination. Executable program code can be stored in aprocessor-readable medium or transmitted by a computer data signalembodied in a carrier wave over a transmission medium or transmitted bya data signal in a carrier wave over a transmission medium orcommunication link. The processor-readable medium or machine-readablemedium may include any medium that can store or transfer information.Examples of processor or machine-readable media include electroniccircuits, semiconductor memory devices, read-only memory (ROM), floppydiskette, CDRW-ROM, DVDRW-ROM, optical disk, hard disk, fiber opticmedia, radio frequency (RF) signals, and the like. A computer datasignal may comprise any signal that can communicate over a transmissionmedium such as electronic network channels, optical fibers, air,electromagnetic signals, RF links, serial links (e.g. IEEE 1394high-speed serial bus), powerline, wireless (e.g. IEEE 802 StandardsWorking Groups, Bluetooth), wired, and the like. Executable program codesegments may be downloaded via communication or computer networks suchas internet, intranet, and local area networks (LANs), wide areanetworks (WANs), and the like.

A suitable application for the device 300 is a home networking system. Apersonal computer can be coupled to a home networking system thatincludes at least one audio/visual device. Content may be located on amachine-readable medium that may be read by the personal computer or theaudio/visual device, on one or more storage devices such as DVD drive,CD drive, hard disk drive or other drives, contained within the personalcomputer, the audio/visual device, or on a remote network site 352accessible through the network.

In an illustrative application, the device 300 enables operationalcontrol to a user by presenting a graphical user interface (GUI), suchas a menu of selected actions or options, typically on the video display360 but also possibly on display screens associated with the hostcomputer 350, a console of the device 300, or a display in the remotenetwork site 352. For example, the sink processor 332 may requestdisplay of a menu in respond to a signal or request from the user. Theemulator interface controller 310 receives the request, determines whichfunctional element stores information for presenting the display, andretrieves the presentation information for display. Typically, the menuinformation can be stored in memory 330, memory 316, a memory associatedwith the host computer 350, or another computer on the remote networksite 352, or a divided and spread among a plurality of storage locationsin conjunction with one or more of the processors. The GUI also includesfunctional elements that permit the user to select from the menu, forexample selection buttons, keys, or other types of switches of a remotecontrol, console, or other input terminal of one or more of theinteracting devices.

According to the menu selection, if a selected item is available in thedevice 300, the emulator interface 306 can issue a command to thecontent source 302 to deliver a media element corresponding to theselected item to the content sink 304. If the selected item is stored inassociation with the host computer 350, the emulator interface 306signals the host computer 350 to deliver the requested content to thecontent sink 304. Similarly, if the requested content is availableelsewhere on a remote network site 352, the emulator interface 306issues a request to transfer requested content from the remote networksite 352. The emulator interface 306 can enforce priority or resolvecontention for resources in a network that contains multiple contentsources and multiple content requesters.

Control interface or translation functionality can be implementedtypically in the processor 314 or the host computer 350, but mayotherwise be supported from a device on a remote network site 352.Control interface or translation enables the content sink 304 or hostcomputer 350 to receive and/or process content for delivery to the homeentertainment system or to a display device. Control interface ortranslation functionality may include transcoding or formattinginformation for content distribution, data format conversion, digitalrights management conversion, and content protection. The host computer350 or device 300 may monitor compliance with permission for receivingthe content. Format conversion functionality includes contentconversion, meta data conversion, and digital rights managementconversion. Processor 314 may facilitate or assist decryption ofreceived data.

In some embodiments, the host computer 350 can operate as a contentserver. Server software can be executable on the host computer 350 andexecute a content formatting operation. The server may include softwarethat searches for content, and upon finding content determines theformat of the content. If necessary, the server transcodes the contentto a suitable format for a renderer. The server complies with multiplecontent format conventions and creates seamless communication of varioustypes of computing and communication devices. Software searches forcontent, upon finding content creates a menu, displays the menu, andtranscodes the signals. Specific software functionality includes a menucontrol structure that is enables a user to select content forrendering, and content formatting to place information in a formatcapable of rendering by the existing system. Software communicates withthe content sink 304 in a particular way that is expected by the contentsink 304.

Server software can be executable on various types of computing devicesincluding computers, PCs, laptops, palm-held devices, set-top boxes,remote control devices, mobile telephones, and the like can access anytype of video content and serve as a navigator for supplying the videocontent to the content sink 304. The software exploits theinfrastructure of existing devices, such as DVD players and drives, toconform the format of video content to a known native format.Accordingly, server software can conform video data in any format to aformat supported by the content sink 304 with no changes to the contentsink 304.

In various embodiments, the host computer 350 may implement code that isexecutable on any suitable processor, for example on the host computer350 or on the emulator processor 314. For device flexibility,functionality can be supplied from the host computer 350. For example,the emulator interface 306 can send all commands to the host computer350 and software in the host computer 350 can execute various server,transcoding, control, and processing operations based on the commands.

In other examples, various processes may be executed in the emulatorprocessor 314 for various reasons such as capability of real-timeprocessing and avoidance of large content transfers between processors.Flexibility, capability to upgrade, and reduction in executable codestorage in the emulator processor 314 can be achieved by downloadingexecutable code from the host computer 350 to the emulator memory 316for execution on the emulator processor 314. For example, the emulatorinterface 306 can include a small, simple executable code in nonvolatilememory in the emulator memory 316 to perform basic input/output andmanagement functions, and execute most functionality from codedownloaded in volatile memory 316 from an external device such as thehost computer 350.

In some examples, content may be communicated in open format, allowinggeneral access without digital rights management. Digital rightsmanagement capabilities can be included in the emulator, for instanceexecuted by the processor 314, so that content becomes compliant with adigital rights management scheme.

Transcoding is a functionality performed by the device 300, hostcomputer 350, or other processor communicatively coupled to the device300 that converts content to a compatible format. If received content iscompatible with the device 300, the content forwards directly to thedevice 300 without conversion. Otherwise, for incompatible content, thehost computer 350, processor 314, or other control functional elementinternal or external to the device 300 can convert the content to aformat that is compatible with the device 300.

When the selected media content is available, the emulator interface 306forwards the media element to the content sink 304. The device 300 canformat the media element to a form suitable for a particular displaysuch as a television screen, speakers, or the like.

In some examples, the content sink 304 may include functionality tointerpret user commands issued via remote control or appliance controlpanel.

Referring to FIG. 4, a detailed block diagram depicts functional blocksof an emulation circuit 400 that is suitable for usage in the emulatorinterface of FIGS. 2 and/or 3. In some embodiments, the emulationcircuit 400 can be implemented as a field programmable gate array,although other technologies may otherwise be used. The emulation circuit400 includes a processor 410 that can be programmed to execute variousfunctions including control, data transfer, emulation, transcoding, datastorage, interface, test, and others. In an illustrative embodiment, theprocessor 410 can be implemented as an ARM7TDMI-S manufactured byAdvanced RISC Machines, United Kingdom. The illustrative processor 410further includes an in-circuit emulator 412 and a Test Access Port (TAP)controller 414.

The in-circuit emulator 412 can support real-time debug with tracehistory around a trigger point, debugging of foreground taskssimultaneous with background task execution, and modification of memoryduring runtime. In-circuit emulator 412 can also support multipleprocessors and mixed architecture devices, slow or variable-frequencydesigns, and debug of very low-voltage cores.

The TAP controller 414 is coupled to a JTAG interface 416, enabling theprocessor 410 to execute JTAG emulation that allows the processor 410 tobe started and stopped under control of connected debugger software.JTAG emulation allows a user to read and modify registers and memorylocations, set breakpoints and watchpoints, and support code download,trace, and monitoring for debug operations.

The processor 410 and an AHB bus interface 418 communicate on an ARMmemory bus 420. The AHB bus interface 412 communicatively couples theprocessor 410 to a multi-layer Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture(AMBA.TM.) high-speed bus (AHB) 422. AHB matrix 426 is also coupled tothe AHB 422. The AHB Matrix 426 is a complex interconnection matrix toattain parallel paths to memory and devices on the multi-layer AMBA.TM.high-speed bus (AHB) 422. The parallel paths of the AHB 422 increase busbandwidth and lower latencies by reducing contention. Multilayer AHB 422is an interconnection technique based on AHB protocol that supportsparallel access between multiple master and slave devices.

Devices coupled to the AHB 422 include an interrupt controller 424, astatic memory controller 428, a test interface controller 430, a cachecontroller 432, an AHB to PVCI bridge 450, and an AHB to BVCI bridge452. The interrupt controller 424 is capable of detecting interruptsignals from multiple sources including an external interrupt connection436, timers 438, a media access control (MAC) module 440, an ATAPIdevice block 442, and a host ATA control block 444. The interruptcontroller 424 asserts an appropriate bit identifying an interrupt onthe processor 410 upon the occurrence of one or more interrupt signals.In various applications, the current highest priority interrupt can bedetermined either by software or hardware. Typically, the currenthighest priority interrupt is read from a set of registers in theinterrupt controller 424. The interrupt controller 424 containsregisters indicative of interrupt status, and registers for enabling andsetting interrupts.

The static memory controller 428 is coupled to a flash memory interface446, typically for supplying program code that is executable on theprocessor 410 although data and other information can also be suppliedto the emulation circuit 400.

The test interface controller 430 is coupled to a test interface 448 andsupports external bus interface request and grant handshake signals forrequesting test interface access to an external bus and information ofexternal bus use grant, respectively. In a typical system, the processor410 may continually request access to an external bus with the testinterface controller 430 having highest priority to bus access. In atypical sequence of events to apply test patterns, first reset isasynchronously applied and synchronously removed. On reset removal,processor 410 initiates a memory read via the static memory controller428. The static memory controller 428 typically requests the externalbus and reads the bus when the request is acknowledged. When the staticmemory controller 428 is busy, the test interface controller 430 canrequest the external bus. The request is granted because the testinterface controller 430 has the highest priority and the test interfacecontroller 430 takes ownership of the external bus. When the staticmemory controller 428 finishes the read access, the test interfacecontroller 430 is granted use of the external bus. The external busresolves the bus request signals and the test interface controller 430initiates a test pattern sequence.

The cache controller 432 is coupled to a cache memory 434,illustratively 4 kB of static RAM. The cache memory 434 reduces externalmemory accesses and increases performance even with usage of relativelylow-speed RAM. The cache memory 434 allows processor 410 to share busbandwidth with multiple devices with high data throughput such asstreaming audio and video devices.

The AHB to PVCI Bridge 450 couples Peripheral Virtual ComponentInterface (PVCI) functional blocks to the AHB 422. The AHB to PVCIbridge 450 can include both master and slave interfaces and supports AHBMaster to PVCI Slave and PVCI Master to AHB Slave modes. The PVCIstandard enables development of plug-in components that are compatiblewith numerous interfaces, promoting design efficiency. In theillustrative example, PVCI devices coupled to a register bus 456 includetimers 438, MAC module 440, a general purpose input/output interface454, ATAPI device block 442, and host ATA control block 444.

The AHB to BVCI Bridge 452 couples Basic Virtual Component Interface(BVCI) functional blocks to the AHB 422. The Basic Virtual ComponentInterface (BVCI) is a system bus interface to a memory bus 458. In theillustrative example, BVCI devices coupled to the AHB to BVCI bridge 452include the host ATA control block 444, the ATAPI device block 442, anda synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) interface 468.

Timers 438 can be programmed to time various events under programcontrol. The processor 410 controls operation of timers 438 throughsignals communicated to timer registers via the register bus 456. Thetimers 438 can generate timer interrupts that can redirect programexecution through operation of the interface controller 210.

The emulation circuit 400 receives and sends data or information byoperation of the general purpose input/output interface 454 that iscoupled between the register bus 456 and a GPIO interface 462.

In the illustrative emulation circuit 400, the MAC module 440 is a10/100 MBPS Ethernet media access controller for networking highlyintegrated embedded devices. The MAC module 440 is coupled to anexternal network interface 460, as well as to the register bus 456 andthe memory bus 458. The MAC module 440 is an interface to physical layerdevices and can support 10-BaseT, 100-BaseTX, 100-BaseFX, and 32 bitstandards-based BVCI bus interface with an integrated direct memoryaccess (DMA) controller. The MAC module 440 is typically IEEE 802.3compliant and supports half- and full-duplex operation with collisiondetection, auto-retry, flow control, address filtering, wakeup-on-LAN,and packet statistics. MAC module 440 can incorporate a DMAbuffer-management unit and support wire-speed performance with variablepacket sizes and buffer chaining. MAC module 440 can offload processortasks including such direct register access and programmable interruptsto improve high data throughput with little processor overhead. The MACmodule 440 can generate interrupts and includes an interrupt signalconnection to the interrupt controller 424.

The host ATA control block 444 and the ATAPI device block 442 arecoupled to the register bus 456 and the memory bus 458, and operate incombination to facilitate connectivity between a host controller andhard disk drives in various applications including computing,communication, entertainment, peripheral, and other applications. Thehost ATA control block 444 includes digital circuitry to form a completeATA host subsystem to integrate hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, DVD-R, and otherhost subsystems. The host ATA control block 444 implements functionalityfor drive control and enables the emulation circuit 400 to operate as ahost. When the emulator 400 functions as a host to control a storagedrive the host uses functionality of host ATA control block 444 and hostATA interface 464. The host ATA control block 444 can also implementprogrammed input-output (PIO), multiple-word direct memory access (DMA),and various speed, for example 33, 66, 100, and 133 megabyte/second,interface circuitry. In various embodiments, the host ATA control block444 can support multiple ATA/ATAPI devices. The host ATA control block444 is coupled to a host ATA interface 464 for connecting to a hostcomputer and has an interrupt connection to the interrupt controller 424so that the processor 410 can address host ATA interface events.

The ATAPI device block 442 is coupled to a device ATA interface 466 andconnects an Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) storage device to a hostsystem. The ATAPI device block 442 typically performs commandinterpretation in conjunction with the embedded processor 410. The ATAPIdevice block 442 implements functionality of storage drive emulation,enabling the emulation circuit 400 to function as a storage drive. Anexternal device can operate as a host that uses the emulation circuit400 as a drive. The ATAPI device block 442 can be used to communicatewith hard disk drives as well as solid-state storage devices usingdynamic RAM (DRAM), NAND, or NOR flash memory devices, and the like. Invarious embodiments, the ATAPI device block 442 can be designed tointerface to one or more of various size (for example 1″, 1.8″, and2.5″) hard disk drives, low-power drives, portable drives, tape drives,and solid-state or flash drives. The ATAPI device block 442 has aninterrupt connection to the interrupt controller 424 so that theprocessor 410 can address device ATA interface events.

The host ATA interface 464 can be logically connected to the device ATAinterface 466. In one example, the emulation circuit 400 can function asa MPEG decoder communicating directly with a storage drive. In a passthrough operation, the emulator circuit 400 can monitor commands sent toa storage drive passively.

The SDRAM interface 468 is an interface controller that supportsinterconnection of the emulation circuit 400 to synchronous dynamic RAMmodules in various configurations, for example DIMM, without supportingcircuitry. The SDRAM interface 468 typically includes a SDRAM controller(not shown) and a SDRAM configuration block (not shown). The SDRAMcontroller generates control signals for controlling the SDRAM. TheSDRAM configuration block includes configuration registers forcontrolling various entities such as refresh and mode lines, and arefresh timer for usage by the SDRAM controller. In various embodiments,the SDRAM interface 468 SDRAM) interface 468 can support slave devices,arbitrary length bus transfers, and programmability.

Referring to FIG. 5, a component diagram shows various system, hardware,and software components of a server 500 for usage with an emulatorinterface. The illustrative server 500 is capable of executing on asystem 502 such as a computer, a personal computer, workstation, laptop,palmheld computer, notebook computer, or any other type of device forexecuting programmed code. The server 500 can communicate with one ormore various information handling devices, including devices thatfunction as a source or information or content, devices that display,perform, or render the sourced information or content, and controldevices. In the illustrative example, the server 500 is configured tocommunicate with a client device 520, a decoder 504 such as an MPEGdecoder, and a DVD drive 506 via an Ethernet connection 508. Thesedevices are for illustration only and can be supplemented or replaced bymany other types of information handling devices. The client device 520,the decoder 504, and the DVD drive 506 are each shown in a single systemcoupled by an IDE bus 510. In other examples, the devices may beconfigured in different systems and may have internal interfacesdifferent than the IDE bus 510.

The server 500 includes one or more server applications 512 that executein conjunction with an audio-visual (AV) system 515 and a mediadirectory 518 to manage interactions among a variety of audio-visualdevices and controllers. The server 500 communicates with the devicesover the Ethernet connection 508 by operation of a server application512, for example a software application that executes a desired contenthandling application. A server application 512 virtualizes media into avolume of data that is navigable by the system 515. The serverapplication 512 can assess characteristics of source media and, ifneeded, modify characteristics into a more familiar form. For example, aDVD-based server 500 may change data format to appear more as a DVDdisc. The server application 512 manages data streaming to one or moreof multiple clients that may be connected to the server 500.

Generally, the server application 512 controls the information transferentities and the type of processing. The server application 512determines and selects devices that function as the content source andrenderer, the type of processing performed on the content, and anycontrol and management functionality. For example, the serverapplication 512 can initially generate a graphical user interfacedisplay indicative of the types of content available for performance andclasses of processes that can be performed on the content. A user canrespond to the display by selecting the desired content and processing.The server application 512 can generate and send control signals to theselected content source and renderer that commence content accessing,transmission, rendering, and display. The server application 512 cangenerate and send control signals that activate devices, if any, in thepath from source to renderer that process or modify the content. In someapplications, the server application 512 can execute content processingroutines that are suitably executed on the server processor.

The AV system 515 defines and manages general interactions among varioustypes of audio-visual devices and supports a broad range of deviceconfigurations and applications independently of device type, contentformat, and data transfer protocols. For example, the AV system 515 cansupport an open-ended variety of audio-visual devices including, but notlimited to, computers, PCs, laptops, palm-held computers, cellulartelephones, workstations, video displays, electronic picture frames,televisions, CD/DVD players and jukeboxes, video cassette recorders,set-top boxes, camcorders, still-image cameras, audio systems, stereos,MP3 players. The AV system 515 can support an open-ended broad varietyof content, information, and data formats including, but not limited to,Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG2, MPEG4), Joint Photographic ExpertsGroup (JPEG), audio standards including MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 (MP3),Windows Media Architecture (WMA), bitmaps (BMP), National TelevisionStandards Committee (NTSC), Phase Alteration Line (PAL), SequentialCouleur avec Memoire (SECAM), Advanced Television Systems Committee(ATSC), video compact disk (VCD) and S-VCD standards. The AV system 515selects and defines functionality of various content sources, contentrenderers, and controllers in combination with a server application 512and the media directory 518.

The AV system 515 comprises a media renderer 514, a media controller516, and a standard media server 542. The AV system 515 defines andmanages interactions among a content source, a content renderer, and anAV interaction controller. In some embodiments, the AV system 515 can behighly flexible and compatible with any type of media source device andany type of media rendering device.

The server 500 accesses content from one or more media sources 544 and546 from the media directory 518. The media controller 516 enables auser to locate and select content from the media directory 518 and toselect a target renderer. The media renderer 514 obtains the selectedcontent and directs transfer of the content to the selected targetrenderer.

In the illustrative example, the media renderer 514 includes atranscoder 530, a virtual logical block address (LBA) manager 532, avirtual content file manager 534, and a virtual content renderer 540. Inone embodiment, the transcoder 530 is an MPEG to video object block(VOB) transcoder and the virtual content file manager 534 is a virtualIFO/VOB manager. The MPEG-VOB transcoder converts from an MPEG formatthat is commonly used to compress and display video content for computerhandling to VOB files that are the standard format of DVD presentationsand movies. VOB files contain multiple multiplexed audio/visual streams.The virtual IFO/VOB manager handles VOB files and information format(IFO) files containing information that describes the particular formatof VOB files including playing information such as aspect ratio,subtitles, menus, languages, and the like.

The server 500 can include transcoders and virtual content file managersthat transcode information in other formats depending on the particularaudio-visual application. For example, a transcoder 530 can beimplemented that transcodes content to and from various formatsincluding one or more of MPEG video, Digital Video (DV), MPEG elementary(ES) or program streams (VOB), YUV4 MPEG streams, NuppelVideo fileformat and raw or compressed (pass-through) video frames and exportmodules for writing DivX, OpenDivX, DivX 4.xx or uncompressed AVI fileswith MPEG, AC3 (passthrough) and PCM audio. One example of aparticularly useful transcoding application is transcoding of JPEG toMPEG. In another example, digital video can be transcoded to MPEGincluding transcoding of low quality digital video to high quality MPEG.

In an audio example, the transcoder 530 can transcode an MP3 media fileto a Dolby AC3 pulse-coded modulation (PCM) format.

In a DVD player application, the transcoder 530 can transcode anytranscribable media for viewing on a DVD player. For example, apower-point presentation can be transcoded to a video presentation on aDVD player.

The transcoder 530 executes decoding and encoding operations usingcontent loading modules including import modules that feed transcodewith raw video/audio streams and export modules that encode data frames.A typical transcoder 530 supports elementary video and audio frametransformations, including video frame de-interlacing or fast resizingand external filter loading. Various operations performed by thetranscoder 530 include demultiplexing, extracting, and decoding ofsource content into raw video/audio streams for import, and probing andscanning of source content to enable post-processing of files, settingfile header information, merging multiple files or splitting files forstorage.

In a typical transaction, the transcoder 530 is activated by a usercommand and initializes content transfer, activating modules that begintransfer and buffering of audio and video streams and encoding frames.For example can initiate transfers by creating a navigation logfile thatcontains the frame and related group of picture list with file offsets.The transcoder 530 then executes one or more video/audio framemanipulations or simply passes through raw frame data withoutmanipulation. Video frame manipulations may include removing anarbitrary frame region for processing, de-interlacing a video frame,enlarging or reduction of video width or height, filtering for imageresizing, removing an arbitrary frame region for encoding, anddownsampling of video width/height. Other video manipulations mayinclude video frame flipping or mirror imaging, gamma correction,anti-aliasing, or color manipulations. Audio frame manipulations mayinclude volume changes, audio stream resampling, and synchronizing videoand audio frames.

The transcoder 530 can load export modules for audio/video encoding andbegin an encoder loop operation that started for the selected frames.

The virtual LBA manager 532 controls definition and accessing of virtuallogical block addresses in the media and relates the virtual logicalblock addresses to physical storage addresses of the media. By creatingvirtual logical block addressing, the virtual LBA manager 532 enablesaccess to content from a variety of different content sources in themanner of a particular physical source. In this manner, the virtual LBAmanager 532 enables a first device, for example a nonstandard ornontypical device, to emulate a second device, for example a device thatnormally supplies content within a system, using logical blockaddressing. In a particular example, the virtual LBA manager 532 canemulate addressing of DVD player content from content acquired from theInternet.

The virtual content manager 534 operates in conjunction with the virtualLBA manager 532 to dictate a map of physical addresses to virtual blockaddresses. The virtual content manager 534 tracks all elements ofcontent data and maintains links among associated data including localdata links and remote data links. Storage on the server 500 is in theconfiguration of multiple linked lists among files that reference oneanother. The virtual content manager 534 maintains links among files,identifying and positioning on one or more media volumes. The virtualcontent manager 534 verifies and ensures that the IFO file referencesare maintained to assure consistency of references at a directory andvolume management level.

The virtual content manager 534 functions to handle storage andaccessing of media content in the manner that a virtual memory manageroperates in a computer. A virtual memory manager tracks chunks ofmemory. The virtual content manager 534 tracks chunks of media. Thevirtual content manager 534 enables multiple chunks of media to bestored with overlapping addressing.

The virtual content manager 534 receives commands from the mediacontroller 516 that initiate or modify accessing and presentation ofcontent. The virtual content manager 534 responds by determining theformat of IFO and VOB files and activating the virtual LBA manager 532and transcoder 530, if needed, to begin media streaming. The virtualcontent manager 534 also functions in conjunction with the virtualcontent renderer 540 to perform media rendering.

The virtual content renderer 540 operates on media files to format mediato meet the functionality and capabilities of a presentation device,such as a DVD player.

In an illustrative embodiment, the virtual content renderer 540 is avirtual IFO/VOB renderer. The virtual content renderer 540 manipulatescontent data according to directions by the virtual content manager 534to render content. The virtual content renderer 540 manipulates contentdata elements, supplying information to files identified and located bythe virtual content manager 534. The virtual content renderer 540 alsocreates IFO files for media that do not already have IFO files includingcreation of selection trees that appear as cascading menus. IFO filesare used to play various files including presentation of menus. Menusare a selection presentation for clusters of media. The virtual mediarenderer 540 can generate multiple menus in a tree structure until allmedia is accessible. The virtual content renderer 540 creates IFO filesas a manifestation of a playlist structure.

Other examples of media that do not have IFO files are MPEG from digitalvideo or other a myriad of other sources such as power point data forslide shows.

In some applications, the virtual content renderer 540 adds content thatwould not exist without rendering for presentation. For example, thevirtual content renderer 540 can configure JPEG images and add fillingcontent to create a slide show of MPEG images to generate slide-showfunctionality.

The illustrative media controller 516 includes a media scanner 538. Inan illustrative embodiment, the media controller 516 allows monitoringof how the media is evolving through operation of the media scanner 538.

The media scanner 538 tracks the media directory 518, enabling mediacontent and the media directory 518 to be mutable. The media scanner 538regularly accesses the media directory 518 to determine whether anychanges in the content of the media directory 518 have occurred andchanging virtual structures in the media renderer 514 and the serverapplication 512 to track changes in the media. The media scanner 538monitors for changes and responds to any changes by updating virtualstructures.

The standard media server 542 can access a variety of content, eitherlocally stored or stored on an external device. The standard mediaserver 542 is capable of accessing content and transferring the accessedcontent to another device via a network using a standard transferprotocol, for example HTTP or FTP. The standard media server 542 canlocate content available on a network from a variety of devices andcommunicates with the media controller 516 to enable browsing orsearching for, available content items. The standard media server 542typically includes a content directory, a connection manager, and atransporter. The content directory includes functions that interact withthe media controller 516 to search or browse for content, supplyinginformation and properties that specifically identify the content. Theconnection manager manages connections associated with a particulardevice including preparation for content transfer, issue of flow controlcommands, distinguishing of multiple instances to support multiplerenderers, and terminating connections when a transfer is complete. Thetransporter can be used to operate in conjunction with the mediacontroller 516 to control content flow. The standard media server 542can supply media that does not require large changes for accessibilityby conventional rendering hardware.

The media directory 518 is a media container, holding a list of allavailable media content and possibly some or all of the media content.The media directory 518 operates as a virtual media directory, enablingand facilitating access to locally-stored media content and remote mediacontained by other servers and devices. The media directory 518 storesUniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) that identify content resources.URIs includes WWW addresses, Universal Document Identifiers, UniversalResource Identifiers, and combinations of Uniform Resource Locators(URL) and Names (URN). Uniform Resource Identifiers are formattedstrings that identify a resource by name, location, or anothercharacteristic. The media directory 518 holds URIs of all files that theserver 500 can deliver for rendering. The URIs can correspond to filesstored anywhere.

The media directory 518 identifies available content sources, forexample media sources 544 and 546, and contains directory information tofacilitate acquisition of content from one or more of the media sources.

Referring to FIG. 6, a use case diagram illustrates functionality of anaudio-visual system that uses an emulator interface. The audio-visualsystem 600 includes a server 610 that is capable of executing on aprocessor and an emulator-enabled media player 612. The server 610manages accessing and streaming of content to the emulator-enabled mediaplayer 612. The emulator-enabled media player 612 receives content fromthe server 610 and performs or presents the content. In a particularembodiment, the audio-visual system 600 can be a video system that playsvideo content from multiple sources on an emulator-enabled DVD player.

The server 610 has several functional blocks including a media server620, a media renderer 622, a media controller 624, a media directory626, and an emulator server 628. The media server 620, the mediarenderer 622, and the media controller 624 contain specificationelements, respectively a server element 629, a renderer element 630, anda control element 632. The specification elements comply with standardcommunication protocols.

The media controller 624 and the media renderer 622 include specializedcontrol operations and rendering operations, respectively. For example,the media controller 624 includes control functionality to select,enable, initiate and manage emulated interactions. The media renderer622 includes a specialized renderer that is a proxy for the emulatornetwork communications server 628. The media controller 624 communicateswith the media server 620 and the media renderer 622 to initialize asource to supply content, set content transfer parameters, and begincontent delivery. Media structure requests are sent to the mediacontroller 624, and the media controller 624 sends control signalscausing the media server 620 to transmit media files to the mediarenderer 622 including functional elements in the media renderer 622that activate the emulator media stream.

The media controller 624, which may be termed a control point, examinesthe media directory 626, and specifies media menuing 640, for exampleDVD menuing, creating menus in the media directory 626 concurrently withcontent transfer. The media directory 626 contains some or all mediacontent along with a list of available content for producing anddisplaying menus. A media provider 602 makes media available to themedia directory 626.

The media server 620 receives control signals from the media controller624 and responds by supplying media content 642 for rendering. The mediarenderer 622 receives the control signals and adjusts the media to theemulated standard 644. The media renderer 622 can render media playermenus 646 for presentation of the menu by the emulator-enabled mediaplayer 612. The media renderer 622 receives and renders the content,supplying the rendered content 648 to the emulator server 628.

The emulator server 628 functions as an interface between the mediarenderer 622 and the emulator-enabled media player 612. The emulatorserver 628 conducts the media content stream 650 from the media renderer622 to the emulator-enabled media player 612 and receives controlinformation from the emulator-enabled media player 612 to permitdiscovery of available content 652.

In an illustrative example, the emulator-enabled media player 612includes an emulator 614, a media drive 616, and a content sink device618. In a particular example, the media drive 616 can be a DVD drive andthe content sink device 618 can be an MPEG decoder. Functions performedby the emulator 614 mirror, or emulate, the functions of the media drive616. In standard operation, the media drive 616 supplies a media stream654 to the content sink device 618 and requests a media description 656.The emulator 614 emulates functions of the media drive 616, supplying anemulated media stream 658, and requesting a media description 659.

The emulator 614 can use automatic Internet Protocol (IP) addressing toallocate reusable network addresses and configuration options.

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the system may include aDynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server 660 that supplies aframework for passing configuration information to hosts on a TCPIPnetwork, based on a Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) that is known to those ofordinary skill in the art of network communication. The DHCP server 660adds a capability to automatically allocate reusable network addressesand additional configuration options 762. DHCP captures the behavior ofBOOTP relay agents to enable DHCP participants to interoperate withBOOTP participants.

Referring to FIG. 8, a detailed state diagram illustrates an example offunctions performed by an emulator 800. In various embodiments, theemulator 800 may execute one or more of a plurality of operations fromvarious devices and components such as source devices, sink devices, orexternal devices. For example, the emulator 800 may execute some or allprocesses in the processor 314 in the emulator interface 306 depicted inFIG. 3.

In an emulation function, the emulator 800 generates control signals,data, and responses that deceive one or more of the source device, thesink device, and an external device as to the identity of theinteracting device. In the sample of an optical media player with anetwork connection, an optical drive functions as a source, an opticalmedia decoder serves as sink, and a remote computer operates as anexternal device. The emulator 800 can trick the devices so that theoptical media decoder can render content from the remote computer in aninteraction identical to an optical drive transaction. The optical drivecan source content for the remote computer in an interaction identicalto sourcing to the optical media decoder. For a writeable drive, theremote computer can source content for the optical drive in aninteraction identical to writing to the drive from a bus.

Emulator 800 begins operation with a power-up initialization of hardwareact 802 that proceeds when hardware tests are successful. Next aninitialize operating system kernel act 804 initializes operationsoftware. An initialize TCP/IP stack act 806 prepares an Ethernet stackfor communication. A start emulator tasks act 810 commences operation ofthe emulator 800 including an emulator state machine 812 and a serverstate machine 814 that execute concurrently and synchronize at syncpoints 815.

The illustrative emulator state machine 812 has three wait statesincluding a bus idle with no media 816, a bus idle with media state 818,and a bus wait read data state 820. The illustrative emulator statemachine 812 has five command action states including a field driveinformation request state 822, a field media request state 824, adeliver bus read data state 826, a field read request state 828, and afield seek request state 830.

The illustrative server state machine 814 has four wait states includinga media host connected state 832, a network media idle state 834, a nomedia host state 836, and a network wait read data state 838. Theillustrative server state machine 814 has four action states including amedia present state 840, a send seek packet state 842, a send readpacket request state 844, and a read data arrives or timeout state 846.

The no media host state 836 advances to the media host connected state832 when a media connection is open but returns when the connection isclosed. Similarly, the network media idle state 834 returns to the nomedia host state 836 when a media connection is lost. The media hostconnected state 832 advances to the action media present state 840 whena media packet arrives but returns when the media is removed. When amedia description is available, the emulator state machine 812 advancesto the bus idle with media state 818 as the media is identified. The busidle with media state 818 advances to the field drive informationrequest state 822 upon a drive data request and returns on anacknowledge. The bus idle with media state 818 advances to the fieldmedia request state 824 upon a media request and returns on anacknowledge. The bus idle with media state 818 advances to the fieldread request state 828 on a read request, generating a read logicalblock address (LBA) signal that places the server state machine 814 inthe send read packet request state 844. On a logical block address (LBA)request, the server state machine 814 advances from the send read packetrequest state 844 to the network wait read data state 838 and returns ona read retry. In the network wait read data state 838, the server statemachine 814 advances to the read data arrives or timeout state 846 and,on a queue data signal, places the emulator state machine 812 in thedeliver bus read data state 826. On a data transfer complete signal, theemulator state machine 812 enters the bus idle with media state 818 fromthe deliver bus read data state 826.

The bus idle no media state 816 of the emulator state machine 812advances to the field drive information request state 822 upon a drivedata request and returns on an acknowledge. The bus idle no media state816 signals the server state machine 814 when a media descriptorarrives, generating a media ID acknowledge that places the server statemachine 814 in the network media idle state 834. The network media idlestate 834 in the event of a bus seek request, generates a seekacknowledge that places the emulator state machine 812 in the bus idlewith media state 818. The bus idle with media state 818 advances to thefield seek request state 830 on a bus seek. The field seek request state830 upon a seek request generates a seek destination signal that placesthe server state machine 814 in the send seek packet state 842 whichgoes to the network media idle state 834 on an acknowledge.

The network media idle state 834 upon a read request generates a readaccepted signal that places the server state machine 814 in the bus waitread data state 820. When data is ready in the bus wait read data state820, an acknowledge places the server state machine 814 in the networkmedia idle state 834.

Emulator 800 can determine functionality of a particular sink device andspecifically imitate that functionality for a remote device. In aparticular example, the emulator 800 can imitate a disk drive bygenerating one track or stream of MPEG-2 at a constant bit rate orvariable bit rate of compressed digital video. The particular emulator800 may support constant or variable bit rate MPEG-1 CBR and VBR videoat 525/60 (NTSC, 29.97 interlaced frames/sec) and 625/50 (PAL, 25interlaced frames/sec) with coded frame rates of 24 fps progressive fromfilm, 25 fps interlaced from PAL video, and 29.97 fps interlaced fromNTSC video. Interlaced sequences can contain progressive pictures andmacroblocks. The emulator 800 can place flags and signals into the videostream to control display frequency to produce the predetermined displayrate. The emulator 800 can control interlacing, progressive framedisplay, encoding, and mixing. The emulator 800 can display still framesencoded as MPEG-2 I-frames for a selected duration, and can generate aplurality of subpicture streams that overlay video for captions,sub-titles, karaoke, menus, and animation.

The emulator 800 imitates a device that sources content by exhibitingthe file system and methods of communicating with the file system of thesource device. During initiation of a source-sink interaction, a systemsearches for contact on a source device. The emulator 800 mimics thefile structure and content search of the source device in a remotedevice, permitting selection of content from either the actual sourcedevice or the remote device emulating the source device.

In a particular example, the emulator 800 emulates a file system such asa Universal Disk Format (UDF) or micro UDF file system and may supportboth write-once and rewritable formats. In some examples, the emulator800 can support a combination of UDF, UDF bridge (ISO 9660), and ISO13346 standards to ensure compatibility with legacy operating systems,players, and computers.

If an emulated transaction is selected, the emulator 800 manages thetransaction by exchanging requests and data according to the protocolsof a source-sink transaction. The emulator 800 also isolates the sourcedevice, intercepting and overriding control signals and datacommunicated by the source device and permitting signals and datainteractions between the sink and the remote device as the emulatedsource. In various systems and transactions, the emulator 800 canimitate a transaction without notification of the sink device. In othersystems and transactions, the emulator 800 can convey information to thesink device that indicates that emulation is occurring and identifyingthe actual remote content source, allowing additional control of networkinteractions, exploiting any additional capabilities of the remotedevice, and expanding rendering capabilities. For example, the emulator800 can control a transaction to allow simultaneous rendering of contentfrom the source device and an emulated remote device. One specificcapability is a picture-in-picture display of source content and remotecontent. Another specific capability is enhanced web-enabled DVD thatextends capabilities to combine content from a DVD with specialnetwork-accessed applications.

Software or firmware that is executable by the emulator 800 may includemany functions such as media content navigation, user interfacing, servofirmware, and device drivers.

An emulator can be implemented in many forms. FIG. 9 shows one exampleof an audio-visual system that includes personal computer (PC) basedsoftware 900 executable on a personal computer and capable ofinteracting with an audiovisual device such as a DVD player 908. In theexample, PC-executable software 900 comprises a server 918, a renderer910, and a control point 932. The DVD player 908 includes an emulator(not shown) that may be implemented, for example, according to thedescription of FIG. 4, and the PC-based software 900 further comprisesan interface or link 920 that supplies information to the emulator in asuitable format. The PC-based software also comprises audio-visualcompression codecs 930, for example Windows A/V compression codecs, forcoding and decoding information in various formats in conjunction with acontent transcoder 914 in the renderer 910.

In the illustrative example, the server 918 can be implemented as partof media management software 916 that supplies content in variousformats for access by the server 918. For example, the media managementsoftware 916 may supply various types of content files including musicfiles, photo files, video files, and others. Music files may haveformats such as MP3, WMA, and others. Photo files may have formatsincluding JPG, TIFF, GIFF, and others. Video files may have formatsincluding MPG, WMV, DIVX, and others. The media management software 916may also supply play lists and graphical user interface (GUI)information such as navigation information and graphic elements.

The renderer 910 may comprise a content transcoder 914 and a contentrequest handler 912. The server 918 can supply GUI graphic elements andcontent files to the content transcoder 914 for transcoding, accordingto various parameters, such as frame rate, sample rate, NTSC/PALinformation, and the like, determined by the transcoder 914 inassociation with a VOB multiplexer 924 in the link 920. The contentrequest handler 912 requests content from the server 918 via call suchas a HTTPGet( ) command.

The control point 932 requests information from the server 918 usingcommands such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) commands in theeXtended Markup Language Transmission Control Protocol (XML TCP)protocol. The server 918 can respond with Unified Resource Identifiers(URIs) for play lists and content. The control point 932 transfers theURIs to the content request handler 912 in the renderer 910.

The link 920 can comprise a menu generator 922, a VOB multiplexer 924,an IFO generator 926, and a UDF generator 928 that function, forexample, as described in the discussion of FIG. 5. The link 920 cancommunication with the A/V device 908 using a protocol such as TCP/IP.

Referring to FIG. 10, a schematic block diagram illustrates anotherimplementation of an audio-visual system 1000 that includes emulation toextend rendering functionality. The audio-visual system 1000 includes amedia renderer with emulation 1010 and network-enabled renderinghardware 1008. The media renderer 1000 comprises rendering hardware 1008and the media renderer with emulation 1010. In the illustrative system,the media renderer 1000 can be a media decoder in combination with acommunication interface. In a specific example, the rendering hardware1008 can be an MPEG decoder coupled to a network interface and anemulator interface. The media renderer with emulation 1010 is a computerin any form or a workstation that is capable of receiving information ormedia content from a network 1006.

In some systems, the rendering hardware 1008 has only a conventionalcapability to render native format content but is supplemented with anetwork interface that enables receiving of content from an alternativesource, local or remote. The renderer with emulation 1010 receivescontent in various formats from a network 1006 and converts the formatof the content, if needed, for rendering by the rendering hardware 1008.The renderer 1010 extends functionality by inclusion of a formattranscoder subsystem 1014 that can transcode content from virtually anyformat to the native format of the hardware renderer 1008. The formattranscoder subsystem 1014 can transcode any supported format into thenative format capable of handling by the rendering hardware 1008.

In one example, the media renderer with emulation 1010 can beimplemented using a computer-based proxy model in which the renderingfunction is supported by the computer, for example a personal computer(PC). The renderer 1010 can support any content format that the computercan transcode. In some embodiments, a control point function can also beproxied by the PC. The PC can supply a control point user interface, forexample as a DVD menu. A DVD remote controller can then be used toselect content. Once the content is selected, the control point is idle.

The transport service 1016 is typically optional and controls somecontent transfer subsystem operations, typically playback operationssuch as stop, pause, seek, and the like. The connection manager 1018supports the content transfer subsystem 1012 and the format decodersubsystem 1014 and controls connections associated with a particulardevice including preparation to receive an incoming transfer, flowcontrol, and support of multiple simultaneous renderers. The renderingcontroller 1020 interacts with the rendering hardware 1008 alone andenables control of the rendering hardware 1008 rendering of particularcontent. In a DVD application, the rendering controller 1020 controlsrendering characteristics such as contrast, brightness, volume, mute,and the like. Functions such as handling of multiple, dynamic instancesenables functionality such as picture-in-picture.

The media renderer with emulation 1010 can include a content transfersubsystem 1012 that can receive content from the network 1006, and aformat transcoder subsystem 1014. The format transcoder subsystem 1014detects the format of the received content, determines whether thecontent format is supported by the rendering hardware 1008 and, if not,transcodes the content into a supported format. Software programs thatexecute in the renderer 1010 control information transfer, transcoding,and the rendering hardware 1008. In the illustrative system, aconnection manager 1018 controls accessing and receipt of content fromthe network 1006 through operations of the content transfer subsystem1012, and controls transcoding definition and activation throughoperations of the format transcoder subsystem 1014. A renderingcontroller 1020 sends signals to the rendering hardware 1008 to setrendering parameters to control rendering of incoming content andinitiate rendering operations.

The renderer 1010 can identify the content formats supported by therendering hardware 1008 during initialization. Upon accessing content onthe network 1006, the renderer 1010 analyzes the network content anddetermines the received content format. If the received content formatis not supported by the rendering hardware 1008, the format transcodersubsystem 1014 is initialized and activated to transcode the receivedcontent into a supported format.

The emulating renderer 1010 may be implemented in various forms. Forexample, the renderer 1010 may be implemented as a self-contained boardor integrated circuit that can be installed in a computer system. Thevarious functional elements may be implemented as hardware, firmware,software, other technologies, or various combinations. In some examples,a portion of the renderer 1010 may be implemented as a board orintegrated circuit, and a portion could be implemented is software thatexecutes from one or more processors in a computer system.

Referring to FIG. 11, a schematic mixed block and pictorial diagramdepicts an example of an application for an emulator 1120. A DVDaudio-visual system 1100 includes a DVD player 1104 and a television1102. The DVD player 1104 has several conventional functional elementsincluding a DVD drive subsystem 1106, an MPEG decoder 1108, and a memory1110. The DVD drive subsystem 1106 sources content for rendering. TheMPEG decoder 1108 receives content from the DVD drive subsystem 1106 viaa bus 1112, for example an IDE or A/V bus, and renders the content forpresentation on the television 1102 or other video screening device.

Functional capabilities of the DVD audio-visual system 1100 aresubstantially increased by adding the emulator 1120 to supply contentfrom a nearly infinite number of sources by operating as a networkinterface. The emulator 1120 is coupled into the bus 1112 to function asa DVD to Internet Protocol (IP) link to Ethernet 1130.

Referring to FIG. 12, a schematic block diagram illustrates variousconnections that can be made between an emulator 1200 and acommunication system that includes a source 1210, a sink 1212, and apathway 1214 for communicating from the source 1210 to the sink 1212.The emulator 1200 can have multiple links for coupling to buses,devices, processors, and components including, for example, busconnections, Ethernet media access control (MAC) links, serial links,parallel links, memory controller links, direct memory access (DMA)links, parallel I/O (PIO) links, register interfaces, shared RAMinterfaces, radio frequency links, universal serial bus (USB) links.Accordingly, the emulator 1200 can directly or indirectly tap or connectto any of the source 1210, the sink 1212, and the pathway 1214.

One type of link 1220 connects the emulator 1200 to the pathway 1214,typically as a bus interface. The pathway 1214 can be a nonstandard busor may be one of several various standard buses such as IntegratedDevice Electronics (IDE), audio/visual (AN), advanced technologyattachment packet interface (ATAPI), Small Computer Systems Interface(SCSI), or other buses. The link 1220 can be a standard bus connectionto a standard bus such as a TAPI connection and can emulate a device atthe physical level or logical level.

A link 1222 from the emulator 1200 to the sink 1212 is commonly anon-tapi connection such as a physical interface through a media accesscontrol (MAC) module. The sink 1212 can be any type of rendering devicesuch as an MPEG decoder, electronic picture frame, audio player, andother display device. Sink devices 1212 can also be various otherdevices and components such as computers, work-stations, laptopcomputers, calculators, palm computers, mobile telephones, televisions,video cassette recorders, compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk(DVD) players and recorders, jukeboxes, karaoke devices, camcorders,set-top boxes, MP3 players, still-image cameras, remote control devices,control panels, televisions with embedded MPEG decoders, personal videorecorders (PVRs), and other control devices and information storage,retrieval, and display devices.

Emulation directly at the sink 1212 is commonly at the logical level.

A link 1224 from the emulator 1200 to the source 1210 is commonly anon-tapi connection such as a physical interface through a media accesscontrol (MAC) module. The source 1210 can be any type of informationsupplying device such as a DVD drive, CD drive, CD-ROM drive (CD-R,CD-R/W), or can also be a hard disk drive, tape drive, tape library, andthe like. The source device 1210 can also be various other devices andcomponents such as remote network storage facilities, computers,workstations, laptop computers, calculators, palm computers, mobiletelephones, and other retrieval devices.

Emulation at the source 1210 is commonly at the logical level. Emulationat the source 1210 can have a connection at any entry positionincluding, but not limited to, a memory interface, a processorinterface, a disk data interface, an input interface such as a pickuphead on a data channel, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a GPIOport, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 13, a schematic block diagram illustrates aninformation hallway application 1300 of an emulator 1310 that isconfigured to function as part of a cable/DSL gateway. The illustrativeapplication 1300 utilizes the emulator 1310 to network various types ofdevices in multiple rooms, for example a living room 1302 and a study1304 in a household via an information hallway 1306. In some examples,the information hallway 1306 can be via Ethernet, wireless (e.g. IEEE802 Standards Working Groups), or other suitable network connections.

In this example, the living room 1302 contains entertainment devices andappliances such as a television 1324 and DVD player 1326. The study 1304contains computing and communications equipment such as a cable/DSLgateway that may incorporate the emulator 1310, a personal computer1316, and a VGA monitor 1314 functioning as a display screen for the PC1316. In other embodiments, the emulator 1310 may be contained in otherdevices or equipment, such as the PC 1316. The cable/DSL gateway enablesnetworking with remote systems, here via an Internet Service Provider(ISP) 1308.

Broadband Internet enables access to a wide variety of video and musicalcontent over the Internet. Various usage models are well-established formusic, including compressed content download via the Internet for usageon other playback devices such as portable MP3 and CD players. Variouscomputer suppliers support MP3 players, mixing the concepts of computingand entertainment since Ethernet and phone network-connected MP3decoders are intended for entertainment usage as part of a home stereosystem.

The information hallway 1306 enables communication of all types ofcontent between different rooms and various entertainment, computing,and communication usages. Media no longer needs to be carried fromroom-to-room. The emulator 1310 enables access of all content throughoutthe house or even remote from the house. Low cost wireless 802.11 (WIFI)facilitates content sharing for homes that are difficult to wire andenable content transfer to a car while parked in the garage or nearby.

A similar usage model is developing for Internet video content withhundreds of thousands of video titles now available for download andencoded from commercial video broadcasts, VHS tape, VCD, DVD, amateur,and home video. Movie studios are making premium movies available forpurchase and per-per-view download over the Internet, encoded to reducesize to a few hundred megabytes with near DVD quality.

One problem solved by the emulator 1310 is facilitating downloaded movieaccess to the television 1324. In addition to assisting content access,the emulator 1310 also can transcode content to meet requirements of thedevices rendering the content. The emulator 1310 can also implementdigital rights management functionality to permit content transfer onlywhen authorized.

In some embodiments, volatile memory in the emulator 1310 is implementedwith a large capacity so that the DVD player can present videoinformation without glitches. A large memory size has increasedimportance for communication connections that are less reliable.Generally, a volatile memory size of 8 megabytes may be sufficient for ahighly reliable communication connection. A memory capacity of 64 or 128megabytes may be more suitable for less reliable interconnections. Anincrease in storage operates analogous to an increase in bandwidth for asystem that accesses media content over a network.

Suitability of memory capacity in a particular configuration alsodepends on the data transfer rate of the communication connection. Ifthe data transfer rate is smaller than the rate that the emulator 1310supplies data to a video display, then the video information can bestored in the volatile memory for all or a part of a video presentation.In one example, if the video presentation rate exceeds the communicationrate, a sufficient amount of video information can be stored beforebeginning presentation so that presentation of the video informationdoes not outpace the continuing video information transfer.

The emulator 1310 enables a user to search, find, and download contentfrom any of a computer, an entertainment device or appliance, or anetwork and view the content in any of multiple desired locations.

With addition of the emulator 1310, the PC 1316 can operate in thebackground as a “communication facilitator” and “content formatter.”Additional functionality made possible by the emulator 1310 includesextending consumer access to “open” and “premium” content. Combiningfunctionality of the PC 1316 and the DVD player 1326 facilitates usagesince familiarity of DVD player menu interface is extended to contentaccess from the PC 1316 and the network or Internet since the extendedsystem uses the same remote control and menu features of DVD system. Thecombined system also improves flexibility to operate with any broadbandinternet service, supplying simple integration for Ethernet, 1394,wireless standards such as IEEE 802 Standards Working Groups andBluetooth, or any other connectivity into a low-cost DVD player.

In some applications, manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers(OEMs) can implement the emulator 1310 using only a simple PCB levelchange to avoid impacting existing system components or firmware, ifdesired.

The emulator 1310 can supply functional basis for an Ethernet MPEGreceiver that serves as a PC to television link. The emulator 1310 canbe used to widely expand functionality of existing products that containMPEG decoders such as digital cable and satellite set top boxes, PVRs,game consoles, and DVD players.

An Ethernet MPEG receiver comprises an MPEG decoder, an interface to theMPEG decoder, and an emulator for converting information from anon-standard form to a form expected from a standard media drive. TheEthernet MPEG receiver creates a link from a personal computer (PC) 1326to television (TV) 1324 so that a user can search for and downloadcontent from either the PC or the TV and view the content in eitherlocation. The Ethernet MPEG receiver is a logical interface thatsupplies data to the MPEG decoder in an expected format so that the PCperforms the function of supplying data in the format expected by theinterface device.

In some applications, the emulator 1310 can be used to connect a PC andDVD player via Ethernet to enable users to search and play content usingeither device seamlessly.

In some embodiments of the emulator 1310, resources of the computer canbe used to download and transcode content for streaming playback on thetelevision using the MPEG decoder of the DVD player.

In some embodiments, the user interface for the DVD player can remainunchanged and the DVD remote control can be used for Internet videoplayback control in the manner of DVD disc playback usage.

Referring to FIG. 14, a schematic block diagram illustrates an exampleof a multiple-media receiver/recorder 1400 comprising an emulator 1400that functions as an input selector or media switch coupled via apathway 1414, for example a bus, to one or more renderers 1430, 1432,1434. The emulator 1410 can select media content from media sources1420, 1422, 1424 or media storage elements 1426, 1427, 1428 that areinternal to a device or system such as a set top box orreceiver/recorder. Some devices or systems may omit internal mediasources and/or internal media storage elements. The emulator 1410 canalso access media content from network devices connect via a networkinterface, for example remote sources 1440, 1442 or remote storageelements 1444, 1446.

The emulator 1410 accesses input signals, for example in the form ofvideo input streams from one or more sources. Various forms of videosignal forms include, for example, National Television StandardsCommittee (NTSC) or PAL broadcast formats, and digital formats based onMoving Pictures Experts Group 2 (MPEG2) and MPEG2 Transport standardssuch as Digital Satellite System (DSS), Digital Broadcast Services(DBS), or Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC). The MPEG2Transport standard formats a digital data stream from an analogtelevision source transmitter, allowing a television TV receiver todisassemble the input signals to find particular programs in amultiplexed program signal.

For signals that are in a format that can be rendered by a selectedrenderer 1430, 1432, or 1434, the emulator 1410 passes through thesignals to the renderer unaltered. For signals that are not in asuitable rendering format, the emulator 1410 reformats or transcodes thesignals to the suitable format, for example MPEG streams. An MPEG2transport multiplex supports multiple programs in the same broadcastchannel, with multiple video and audio feeds and private data. Theemulator 1410 can tune the channel to a particular program, extracts aparticular MPEG program, and transmit the MPEG signals to the pathway1414 for rendering by the selected renderer.

The emulator 1410 can encode analog television signals into an MPEGformat using separate video and audio encoders in a manner transparentto the system. The emulator 1410 may modulate information into VerticalBlanking Interval (VBI) of the analog TV signal using one or more ofmultiple techniques. North American Broadcast Teletext Standard (NABTS)may be used to modulate information onto lines 10 through 20 of an NTSCsignal, using line 21 for Closed Caption (CC) and Extended Data Services(EDS). Signals can be decoded by the emulator 1410 and passed torenderers in the manner of MPEG2 private data channel delivery.

The emulator 1410 can mediate signals between multiple internal mediasources 1420, 1422, 1424 and media storage elements 1426, 1427, 1428 andmultiple external remote sources 1440, 1442 and remote storage elements1444, 1446, as well as from internal or external processes and memory.The emulator 1410 can convert input streams, for example to an MPEGstream, and sent to the pathway 1414. The emulator 1410 can buffer theMPEG stream into memory. The emulator 1410 can perform two operations ifa user is watching real time TV. The emulator 1410 can send the streamto a renderer, for example renderer 1420, and simultaneously write thestream to a storage, for example storage 1426 such as a hard disk drive.

The renderer 1420 receives MPEG streams as an input signal and producesan analog television signal according to the NTSC, PAL, or otherstandards. The renderer 1420 commonly may contain an MPEG decoder,On-Screen Display (OSD) generator, analog TV encoder and audio logic.The OSD generator enables program logic to generate images for overlayon the analog television signal. The renderer 1420 can modulateinformation supplied by the program logic onto the VBI of the outputsignal in a number of standard formats, including NABTS, CC and EDS.

While the invention has been described with reference to variousembodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to them.Many variations, modifications, additions and improvements of theembodiments described are possible. For example, those having ordinaryskill in the art will readily implement the steps necessary to providethe structures and methods disclosed herein, and will understand thatthe process parameters, materials, and dimensions are given by way ofexample only. The parameters, materials, and dimensions can be varied toachieve the desired structure as well as modifications, which are withinthe scope of the invention. Variations and modifications of theembodiments disclosed herein may be made based on the description setforth herein, without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as set forth in the following claims.

In the claims, unless otherwise indicated the article “a” is to refer to“one or more than one”.

1-33. (canceled)
 34. An apparatus configured to facilitate the deliveryof information from a remote source to a media decoder in a formatnative to the media decoder, the apparatus comprising: a networkinterface configured to couple to an external network and to facilitatecommunications between the apparatus and the remote source; a controllerin communication with the network interface and configured to couple tothe media decoder; instruction sequences executable on the controller,the instruction sequences comprising instructions for: (i) receivingnetwork information from the remote source via the external network;(ii) determining, based on signals received from the remote source, acontent format in which the network information is being received; (iii)determining a format native to the media decoder; (iv) converting thenetwork information from the content format to the native format; and(v) delivering the network information to the media decoder in thenative format.
 35. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the networkcontroller is configured to couple directly to the network interface.36. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the controller is configured tocouple indirectly to the network interface.
 37. The apparatus of claim34 wherein the controller is configured to couple indirectly to thenetwork interface via a direct connection to an information source. 38.The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the controller is configured to coupleindirectly to the network interface via a direct connection to the mediadecoder.
 39. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the instruction sequencesphysically emulate a device.
 40. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein theinstruction sequences logically emulate a device.
 41. The apparatus ofclaim 34 wherein the network interface is configured to couple to theexternal network using one or more network links selected from the groupof an Ethernet media access control (MAC) link, a serial link, aparallel link, and a radio frequency link.
 42. The apparatus of claim 34further comprising: a content bus interface in communication with thenetwork interface and configured to connect to one or more devicesselected from the group of a local area network (LAN) card, a deviceincorporating a universal serial bus (USB), a device incorporating aIEEE 1394 standard compatible bus, a device incorporating anAudio/Visual (A/V) bus, a device incorporating a Small SystemsInterconnect Bus (SCSI), a cable modem, a digital camera, a videocamcorder, and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
 43. The apparatus ofclaim 34 wherein the instruction sequences further comprise instructionsfor simultaneously receiving information from the remote source in thenative format and network information from the external network in aformat different from the native format, and simultaneously supplyingthe information from the remote source and the network information tothe media decoder in the native format.
 44. The apparatus of claim 34wherein the instruction sequences further comprise instructions foranalyzing signals on the network interface to determine one or moreformats supported by the media decoder, analyzing signals received fromthe remote source to determine if the format of the received informationdoes not comply with the supported formats, and, if not, converting thereceived information to one of the supported formats.
 45. The apparatusof claim 34 wherein the instruction sequences further compriseinstructions for receiving a plurality of signals from multiplediverse-format sources and converting the signals into the nativeformat, thereby seamlessly supplying content from multiplediverse-format sources to the media decoder and allowing the mediadecoder to function as if the signals were stored locally in the nativeformat.
 46. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein the instruction sequencesfurther comprise instructions for controlling a storage drive, therebyenabling the apparatus to function as host for the media decoder.
 47. Amethod of delivering media content to a media decoder, the methodcomprising: detecting the presence of the media decoder, the mediadecoder having a capability to decode information encoded in a formatnative to the media decoder; accessing information from an externaldevice and in a format different from the native format; determining,based on the accessed information, a content format in which theinformation is being accessed; determining the format native to themedia decoder; converting the accessed information to the native format;and delivering the converted information to the media decoder in thenative format.
 48. The method of claim 47 further comprising: analyzingsignals attributed to the accessed information to determine whether theaccessed information is in a format supported by a media decoder and, ifnot, reformatting the accessed information to the native format.
 49. Themethod of claim 47 further comprising: analyzing signals from the mediadecoder to determine the native format; analyzing signals representingthe accessed information to determine if the accessed informationcomplies with the native format, and, if not, converting the accessedinformation to the native format.
 50. The method of claim 47 furthercomprising receiving a plurality of signals from multiple diverse-formatsources and converting the signals into the native format, therebyseamlessly supplying content from multiple diverse-format sources to themedia decoder and allowing the media decoder to function as if thesignals were stored locally in the native format.